Tag Archives: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander

Last Friday I had the opportunity to spend a day at the Grasstree Gathering. About 150 Indigenous Christian leaders gathered over the weekend to encourage and support one another in the work they are doing with and for their people. It was an inspiring event. Artists like Safina Stewart spoke of their journey and what they are seeking to say ...

If a referendum vote were held today, 75 per cent of all Australians (including two in three Coalition voters) would vote yes to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the nation’s Constitution. Undertaken by Polity Research for the Recognise movement in March, the research demonstrates strong backing for this change—both in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and ...

The Destiny Together week of prayer and fasting is over. Bruce Mullan looks at what’s next in the Uniting Church’s journey of reconciliation with First Peoples. The paint was washed off the foreheads and the chairs packed away but for those who participated in the Canberra prayer vigil and at other Destiny Together—Justice for First Peoples events around the nation, ...

The June edition of Journey magazine is now available in PDF. You can download this edition and all previous editions back to 2005 on the download page. Okay, what’s next? Have you ever had one of those moments when something happens or you find out something new and all you can do is ask, “Well what do I do now?” Coming to faith ...

Sometimes life is not all it is cracked up to be. Dreams are lost. Disappointments occur. Doubts creep in. That is what it was like for the friends of Jesus. Travelling with Jesus was an exhilarating ride. People were healed and the stories he told gave people hope for a better community. They expected him to overthrow the oppressive Roman ...

In a historic moment in the Uniting Church journey, First and Second Peoples gathered together in front of Parliament House in Canberra, calling for justice and reconciliation. Matt Pulford reports. On 18 March, on the lawns in front of Parliament House in Canberra, around 300 members of the Uniting Church in Australia gathered for an act of public worship. The ...

The Destiny Together prayer vigil took place in front of Parliament House in Canberra yesterday and there are some really wonderful photos already coming from the attendees. We’ll be posting these photos and links to some of the statements made at the event as they become available. We’ll also cover the event in the upcoming edition of Journey, which will be available on ...

The Intervention has caused controversy since its introduction, and Indigenous Australians are calling for genuine respect and partnership. Rohan Salmond explores. At the Uniting Church in Australia’s 13th Assembly, members of the Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress (UAICC) told their stories about what it is like living under the Stronger Futures legislation in the Northern Territory. The Assembly was ...

Uniting Church members are invited to engage in the Week of Prayer and Fasting for Justice for First Peoples, writes Jennifer Whyte. One of the most poignant events of the 13th Assembly of the Uniting Church in 2012 was the silent walk of members through the streets of Adelaide to the South Australian Parliament. Prompted by the stories of anguish ...

Emerging Indigenous leaders and elders from across Australia are forging new partnerships through the Grasstree Gathering. Dianne Jensen reports. “Preaching in your own skin” is a catchphrase that sums up the cultural and spiritual empowerment of a people, and it resounded at the National Grasstree Gathering Emerging Indigenous Christian Leaders Conference in Brisbane. The Grasstree event in early October followed the inaugural ...